The 8 Beatitudes
“It’s all there. Everything that a peasant in Galilee can relate to as a part of life under Roman rule: the
need to rely on God, the worry about daily nourishment, the constant struggle to stay out of debt, and,
finally, a reminder that in the midst of this cruel life, succumbing to the temptation to lie, cheat, steal,
or sleep with another man’s wife is a false act that will only lead people farther and farther away from
God. The crowd is stunned as Jesus finishes. The speech is less than two thousand words long. Yet
there is great power in its brevity. “The Sermon on the Mount,” as it will come to be known, may be
the most important speech in history.” O'Reilly, Bill; Dugard, Martin (2013-09-24). Killing Jesus: A History
The speech was about thinking and behavior, with instructions on how to live a good life, how to be blessed and eternally happy (The Eight Beatitudes), with descriptions of individuals having been saved, by God’s grace. Jesus begins this great sermon by turning the common understanding of those in God’s favor upside down! The antithesis of present thought! The Pharisees, who largely set the religious and spiritual tone of the day, would have propagated the opposite view of the Beatitudes, with an incorrect understanding for the believer. For this reason, Jesus brings clarity to the scene with these eight corrections.
The word blessed, which Jesus used with each Beatitude, can mean happiness. The beatitudes are eight statements taught by Jesus. They are concerned with virtue and how a believer in Jesus Christ can achieve that virtue. The Beatitudes are a map of life, a series of directives helping us on our journey to be with God. They also designate the actual condition of people who follow God's guidelines. The Beatitudes initially seem to be merely soothing and beautiful precepts for overly spiritual and seemingly useless people, but of very little practical use in the rigid, fast-paced workdays of the world in which we live. We soon find, however, that the Beatitudes contain the “dynamite” of the Holy Spirit. And they “explode” when the circumstances of our lives cause them to do so. The Sermon on the Mount is not a set of rules and regulations—it is a picture of the life we will live when the Holy Spirit is having His unhindered way with us.
The Beatitudes must be taken as a whole, describing the way God’s people must live if they expect Christ
to be seen in them. With respect to behavior, Christ teaches us not to conform to this world but to, "Change our thinking and change our lives.
need to rely on God, the worry about daily nourishment, the constant struggle to stay out of debt, and,
finally, a reminder that in the midst of this cruel life, succumbing to the temptation to lie, cheat, steal,
or sleep with another man’s wife is a false act that will only lead people farther and farther away from
God. The crowd is stunned as Jesus finishes. The speech is less than two thousand words long. Yet
there is great power in its brevity. “The Sermon on the Mount,” as it will come to be known, may be
the most important speech in history.” O'Reilly, Bill; Dugard, Martin (2013-09-24). Killing Jesus: A History
The speech was about thinking and behavior, with instructions on how to live a good life, how to be blessed and eternally happy (The Eight Beatitudes), with descriptions of individuals having been saved, by God’s grace. Jesus begins this great sermon by turning the common understanding of those in God’s favor upside down! The antithesis of present thought! The Pharisees, who largely set the religious and spiritual tone of the day, would have propagated the opposite view of the Beatitudes, with an incorrect understanding for the believer. For this reason, Jesus brings clarity to the scene with these eight corrections.
The word blessed, which Jesus used with each Beatitude, can mean happiness. The beatitudes are eight statements taught by Jesus. They are concerned with virtue and how a believer in Jesus Christ can achieve that virtue. The Beatitudes are a map of life, a series of directives helping us on our journey to be with God. They also designate the actual condition of people who follow God's guidelines. The Beatitudes initially seem to be merely soothing and beautiful precepts for overly spiritual and seemingly useless people, but of very little practical use in the rigid, fast-paced workdays of the world in which we live. We soon find, however, that the Beatitudes contain the “dynamite” of the Holy Spirit. And they “explode” when the circumstances of our lives cause them to do so. The Sermon on the Mount is not a set of rules and regulations—it is a picture of the life we will live when the Holy Spirit is having His unhindered way with us.
The Beatitudes must be taken as a whole, describing the way God’s people must live if they expect Christ
to be seen in them. With respect to behavior, Christ teaches us not to conform to this world but to, "Change our thinking and change our lives.
MATTHEW 5:1-12
1 When He saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain, and
after He sat down, His disciples came to Him.
2 Then He began to teach them, saying:
3 “The poor in spirit are blessed, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
4 Those who mourn are blessed, for they will be comforted.
5 The gentle are blessed, for they will inherit the earth.
6 Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are blessed, for they will be filled.
7 The merciful are blessed, for they will be shown mercy.
8 The pure in heart are blessed, for they will see God.
9 The peacemakers are blessed, for they will be called sons of God.
10 Those who are persecuted for righteousness are blessed, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
11 “You are blessed when they insult and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of Me.
12 Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
1 When He saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain, and
after He sat down, His disciples came to Him.
2 Then He began to teach them, saying:
3 “The poor in spirit are blessed, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
4 Those who mourn are blessed, for they will be comforted.
5 The gentle are blessed, for they will inherit the earth.
6 Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are blessed, for they will be filled.
7 The merciful are blessed, for they will be shown mercy.
8 The pure in heart are blessed, for they will see God.
9 The peacemakers are blessed, for they will be called sons of God.
10 Those who are persecuted for righteousness are blessed, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
11 “You are blessed when they insult and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of Me.
12 Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
The Behavior Science Behind The 8 Beatitudes
- The poor in spirit are blessed, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. Understand that you can not control all your circumstances in life, we are not God, we are empty without God, we are poor without God. We can’t control our circumstances, but we can control how we think about our circumstances and how we respond. The closer you get to God, the better you’re going to understand yourself. That’s because God is your Creator. The more you understand your Creator, the more you understand yourself because you are his creation. With respect to the neuro-biology of learning, neurons that fire together, wire together. Where attention goes, neurofiring flows and neuro-connections grow. Grow close to God and He will grow close to you. James 4:8. We learn through repetition, repetition on prayer and reading the Word. True happiness comes when people realize they’re spiritually bankrupt before God and must rely on His strength. God gladly gives the kingdom of heaven to those who come to Him in humility and faith.
- Those who mourn are blessed, for they will be comforted. Sadness is going to be a part of life in this imperfect, sinful world. We mourn when we face great sorrow, experience a devastating tragedy, or are
Earnestly believe that God exists, that I matter to Him and that He has the power to help me recover
- The gentle or meek are blessed, for they will inherit the earth. Gentleness was the third Beatitude. Meekness isn’t weakness. This word implies humility and trust in God rather than a self-centered
- 6: spiritual poverty leads
the only genuine satisfaction for those who yearn for true justice,
personal righteousness, and salvation.
- Jesus’ fifth Beatitude focused on mercy. The word merciful implies
-